Common Platform Identity and Access Management Service – more than just logging on and logging off

Hello, I’m Linda Green the Business Product Owner for the Identity and Access Management (IdAM) Service for the Common Platform.

When I first heard the term Identity and Access Management Service, I had no idea what it really was and naively believed what some colleagues told me “it’s simple, it’s just allowing users to log on and log off”. I quickly found there is much more to it than that and I’m really proud of the service we’ve delivered for the Common Platform but we’re not finished yet.

What is IdAM

IdAM is the functionality within the Common Platform that allows different users to have an identity on the system and ability to sign in and access the various services. It also provides a service for administrators to create, update, manage and remove organisations and users. IdAM is a key security aspect of the Platform and ensures the right people have the right access to the right pieces of information. Like all our systems, it’s important that only people who have a business need and permission can access data on our systems. The design puts verified organisations in control of who they allow to access the Platform, as well as management of their users.

The Common Platform IdAM service moved into live production in March 2017, with users from Transport for London (TfL), HMCTS staff in Lavender Hill, and first and second line support teams. As additional services on the Common Platform have gone live, additional users have been added and are now registered; there are now approximately 300 users using the IdAM service daily.

The IdAM service has a support team that manages technical developments and enhancements. The next major milestone the team is planning includes the transition of 15,000 magistrates and 600 HMCTS Rota Administrators from the interim IdAM service currently being used to access the Magistrates’ Court Rota Service. This will be a significant increase in the volume of users accessing services available on the Common Platform and will test both performance and scalability.

IdAM benefits, challenges and next steps

The key benefit of the IdAM service is that it provides a single sign-on solution to access all services that are available on the Platform. This means that a user only needs to remember one password to access all services; and if they forget this password, there is a simple, but secure way, to reset their password. The service has also been designed to allow integration with services that sit outside of the Platform. such as Reform CFT services.

The biggest challenge we’ll face over the coming months is when we start to on-board thousands of defence practitioners and their organisations. We’ll need to identify an accountable person within each of those organisations and engage with them to ensure we have all the information we need for them to access the system.

Please use the comment facility at the bottom of this page to leave your views or alternatively you can send me an email.